World Premiere of OPEN by Crystal Skillman to be Presented by All For One Theater and The Tank

All For One Theater and The Tank will present the archival film of the 2019 world premiere production of Open, a queer love story, streaming on demand June 21 through June 27, 2021 as part of The Tank's annual PrideFest. The performance was filmed live in June 2019 at The Tank in New York City. Tickets are available by donation, and can be reserved at www.afo.nyc.

Open is a magic act that reveals itself to be a resurrection. A woman called The Magician presents a myriad of tricks for our entertainment, yet her performance seems to be attempting the impossible - to save the life of her partner, Jenny. But is our faith in her illusions enough to rewrite the past? The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and as impossible as it may seem, this Magician's act may be our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate.

Open is written by four-time New York Times Critic's Pick recipient Crystal Skillman (King Kirby, Mary and Max), with direction by Jessi D. Hill (Unblinking Eye, Surely Goodness & Mercy), starring Drama Desk Award nominee Megan Hill (Eddie and Dave, Do You Feel Anger?). The production has a runtime of approximately 60 minutes.

The production's creative team included lighting & scenic design by Sarah Johnston (Medea at BAM), sound design by Emma Wilk (A Clockwork Orange at New World Stages), and costume design by Becky Bodurtha (Among the Dead with Ma-Yi Theater Company). The production stage manager was Sydney Golden; the assistant director was Chelsey Smith. Donghyuk Chang served as production supervisor.

Crystal Skillman is a four-time New York Times Critic's Pick playwright expanding into audio drama and television, who has written for Marvel Comics, as well as Adventure Time comics. She is the author of the plays Cut (Theater Under St. Marks), Geek (Vampire Cowboys), as well as King Kirby, now an episodic audio drama, co-written with Fred Van Lente, and available to wherever you listen to podcasts from Broadway Podcast Network. Crystal was selected for the 2020-2023 Core Membership at The Playwrights' Center and her play Pulp Vérité was featured in their season virtually this spring. Her musicals with Bobby Cronin include the award-winning Mary and Max, as well as her play with music Rain and Zoe Save the World, optioned by DDM Productions/Drew & Dane Productions, and the animated series Cosmic Critters. Other musicals include Postcard American Town with composer Lynne Shankel (awarded the 2020-22 SDSU New Musical Initiative), This Show is Money (The Civilians 2020 R&D Group) with composer Gaby Alter, and A New City (Sam Ratelle). She is currently writing her scripted audio drama series The Magician's Magician, a further extension of the world of Open, which will be released with BOOM Integrated/John Marshall Media this fall. crystalskillman.com

All For One Theater (Producer) is dedicated to producing and developing extraordinary solo theater. AFO believes the solo show is more than a vehicle for personal narratives; it blurs the line between performance art and theater, and has the capacity to forge connections between artists and audiences more personal than those of traditional theatrical storytelling.

Since 2011, AFO has presented acclaimed full-length solo plays Off and Off-Off Broadway, including two New York Times Critic's Picks: The Brobot Johnson Experience by Darian Dauchan, and Open by Crystal Skillman; as well as Monsoon Season by Lizzie Vieh, My Name is Gideon: I'm Probably Going to Die, Eventually by Gideon Irving, and virtual productions of Jack Was Kind by Tracy Thorne, and Karen, I Said by Eliza Bent. AFO received a 2021 Drama League Award nomination for the digital film series AFO Solo Shorts. AFO also nurtures solo artists through the Solo Collective developmental series, in addition to one Artist In Residence for up to 18 months of development. afo.nyc

Founded in 2003, The Tank (Producer) is an Obie Award-winning, multi-disciplinary non-profit arts presenter and producer, which provides a home to emerging artists working across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. Led by Artistic Director Meghan Finn, Managing Producer Danielle Monica Long King and Director of Artistic Development Johnny G. Lloyd, The Tank champions emerging artists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression. In doing so the company removes the economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form. From the company's home with two theaters on 36th Street, The Tank serves over 2,500 artists every year, presents over 1,000 performances, and welcomes 36,000 audience members annually. The company fully produces a curated season of 13-18 theatrical World or New York premieres each season. During the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, The Tank has launched CyberTank, a virtual gathering space and programming platform for artists to share work. With weekly themed variety shows, ongoing series and evening-length shows made for the virtual frame, CyberTank has already presented the work of over 4,093 artists in over 468 performances to over 20,000 audience members across the country and the world.

The recently announced PrideFest 2021, which features new works celebrating the queer community, will take place from June 17-30, 2021 both online through CyberTank and in-person through openairtank. Recent Tank-produced work includes The New York Times Critics' Picks Taxilandia by Flako Jimenez (2021); Open by Crystal Skillman, directed by Jessi D. Hill (2019); Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan, directed by Katie Lindsay (2018); and The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman, directed by Meghan Finn (2016), as well as Drama Desk Award-nominated productions The Hunger Artist (2018), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy(2017), Ada/Ava (2016) and youarenowhere (2016). thetanknyc.org

Photo credit: Maria Baranova

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